Alert system could warn of impending disaster faster

5:20 AM,
Jan. 6, 2014

Written by

CSU staff, on behalf of Colorado State University

When flash floods or tornadoes strike, residents usually have minutes to respond. These fast-forming disasters often outpace the ability of local emergency responders to warn people who may be in harm's way.

Colorado State University professor V. "Chandra" Chandrasekar is part of a project to develop an emergency communication system that spots tornadoes or floods earlier, "finds" people in affected areas, and texts them emergency information on their mobile phones.

The system will rely on radars that Chandra has developed to "nowcast" real-time weather conditions to forecasters ...